Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs
with cauliflower mash, wilted chard and orange
These juicy chicken thighs are a breeze to make, getting crisp in the pan and then staying juicy and tender while they finish cooking in the oven.The addition of cinnamon and orange in the chard makes it sweet, fresh, and hard to stop eating!
Smarts:Mashed cauliflower is an easy, delicious, and healthy alternative to mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
- Chard, any type - 1 bunch, thinly sliced
- Shallots - 1, finely chopped
- Garlic - 4 cloves, finely chopped
- Thyme, fresh leaves - 1 Tbsp, picked leaves
- Chicken thighs, bone-in & skin on - 4
- Oranges - 1/2, juice and zest of
- Cooking oil - 1 Tbsp
- Cinnamon, ground - 1/2 tsp
- Red pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
- Cauliflower - 1, chopped into bite-size pieces
- Milk, low fat - 1/4 cup
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Garlic powder - 2 tsp
- Thyme leaves - 2 tsp, picked leaves
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Chard / Shallots/ Garlic / Thyme (for chicken & cauliflower) / Cauliflower - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Chicken - Sprinkle skin side with salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Oranges - Zest and juice.
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Make
- Preheat oven to 425F (or 218C) degrees.
- Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil.
- Heat cooking oil over high heat in a large skillet and add the chicken skin side down. Cook until the skin is golden brown, approximately 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for 2-3 minutes. NOTE: If your pan cannot fit 4 thighs comfortably, brown the thighs in batches. Chicken will not brown properly if the pan is crowded.
- Once thighs are browned on both sides, sprinkle fresh thyme leaves onto the skin side, put into the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until chicken is firm and juices run clear when pricked.
- Cook cauliflower florets in salty boiling water until they are fork tender. Pour the pot into a colander to drain the cauliflower and then place cauliflower back in the pot.
- Add the milk and butter to the cauliflower along with garlic powder and fresh thyme leaves
- Using an immersion blender, potato masher, or a fork, blend / mash the cauliflower until they resemble a smooth paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove chicken from the oven and take out of the pan to let rest for at least 5 minutes.
- While chicken is resting drain all but 1 tbsp of oil (amount for 4 servings; adjust accordingly if customizing) from the pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, garlic, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes and cook until the shallot is translucent, approximately 3 minutes.
- Add the orange juice and then the chard leaves so that it steams in the juice. Keep the chard moving so that it wilts evenly and doesn’t burn, 1-2 minutes
- Top the chard with orange zest and serve alongside the mashed cauliflower and chicken thighs. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
74 reviews
Really liked the chicken and cauliflower mash, but the chard had too much cinnamon (tasted a bit like tree bark). Chicken took longer to cook (even though I purchased boneless).
0 HelpfulUsed spinach instead of chard. It was pretty good with the juice and zest. The cauliflower was fine. I may have liked it better with cream cheese or so cream. The chicken was ok. Probably didn't help that my chicken was skinless.
0 HelpfulI had trouble getting all three items done and still hot at the same time. That ssid, everything was good! The chard was phenomenal!
0 HelpfulMade vegetarian by substituting gardein chicken. Recommend skipping the oven step for that - made it way too dry
0 HelpfulOMG, so good! You're classic meat and "potatoes" kind of meal. My daughter said it smelled like Thanksgiving.
0 Helpful